Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports The NC native has become the latest Tar Heel to get drafted in the first round. After all of the talk and rumors that have been going on for weeks, we finally know where the Carolina product is headed. Drake Maye was selected third overall in the NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He is the first Tar Heel quarterback to get selected in the first round of the draft since Mitch Trubisky was drafted second overall by the Chicago Bears in 2017. Maye’s career as a Tar Heel was as impressive as anybody could’ve hoped for. His primary objective when he arrived on campus was to fill in Sam Howell’s sizable shoes, and his feet burst through the seams immediately. During his freshman season, Maye threw for 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions while completing 66.2% of his throws. Not only did he show off his impressive arm strength and accuracy whenever he took the field, he also showed off impressive athleticism as a runner — he joined the company of Patrick Mahomes and Johnny Manziel as the three most recent quarterbacks in NCAA history to average 300 passing yards per game while also leading the team in rushing. After losing his favorite target in Josh Downs going into his sophomore season, Maye still found a way to stand out with his talent. he finished his 2023 campaign with 3,608 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while completing 63.3% of his throws. Aside from some new wide receiver targets, Maye was surrounded by an iffy offensive line that allowed more pressure than was welcome. Getting Devontez Walker into the line-up in the middle of the season helped quite a bit, but losing Kobe Paysour almost immediately after Walker became eligible made for a tough situation. Maye was able to have an impressive season despite inconsistencies at wide receiver, and he ran for nine touchdowns for good measure. Maye’s Carolina career was special, and now he has a chance to blossom into a star with the Patriots. What do you think of Drake Maye joining the Patriots? Let us know in the comments below.

Ryan Garza / USA TODAY NETWORK With Drake Maye set to go early and others set to go later, here’s how to catch when the Tar Heels are selected There is no professional draft that is a bigger spectacle than the NFL Draft. The NBA may have their suits, MLB has an attempt at hype, and the NHL is going to try to do something at the Sphere in Las Vegas, but the NFL has taken the ritual of NFL officials going to the microphone and announcing who a player must play for as a rookie and made it into a party. Cities bid to host, local landmarks are turned into a backdrop, and fans descend to cheer or jeer as their team tries to build its future. This year, the NFL Draft will take place in Detroit, MI. As usual, it will occur over three days and there’s a good chance you’ll hear of Tar Heels being drafted on each one of those days. We know one, Drake Maye, will hear his name early. It’s just a question of which team will take him. Beyond that, we are expecting Tez Walker and Cedric Gray to also be selected, we just don’t know what round. So what do you do if you want to watch every pick to hear each name? No worries, we got you. Day One, Thursday 4/25: Round 1 TV: ESPN, ABC, NFL Network Streaming: ESPN+, NFL+, The Pat McAfee Show Youtube/ESPN + Radio: ESPN Radio-check for local affiliates Time: 8 PM The biggest day of the draft will have different tastes depending on how you want to consume it. For those access to ESPN and the NFL Network, you’re going to get your usual draft talk with a host, analysts, and a discussion/prediction of each pick. Your NFL Insiders will occasionally pipe up. A bit of a different twist is that while ESPN and the NFL Network have separate broadcasts, in a sign that the two entities may be coming together sooner or later, talent from both networks will appear on both broadcasts. If you’ve fully cut the cord, ABC’s broadcast is going to be different. They will have the draft anchored by most of their College Gameday crew and discuss the picks from their experiences in watching these players in college. Newly signed staffer Nick Saban will be with this crew. McAfee will be a streaming only product, available on YouTube and ESPN+. It’s basically going to be his show, but with Bill Belichick adding his thoughts with each pick. It could be interesting depending on who the Patriots take at three, assuming they keep the pick. Day Two, Friday, 4/26: Rounds 2=3 TV: ESPN2, ABC, NFL Network Streaming: ESPN+, NFL+ Radio: ESPN Radio-check for local affiliates Time: 7 PM Because of the NBA Playoffs, coverage of this night of the draft will move to ESPN 2. Beyond that and the lack of another Pat McAfee show, the coverage and the plan is the exact same-from the hosts and the broadcasts on each channel. With this being two rounds despite the 7 PM start time, the picks are likely going to go on for a while. Day Three, Saturday, 4/27: Rounds 4-7 TV: ESPN/ABC, NFL Network Streaming: ESPN+, NFL+ Radio: ESPN Radio-check for local affiliates Time: Noon On Saturday, the broadcast you see on ESPN and ABC will be the same, and it will be a more traditional Draft broadcast. NFL Network will continue, and while the previous nights will have every pick announced life, the coverage on this day tends to just go over picks in bunches. It’ll be a blink and you’ll miss it tap situation. However you decide to watch, we will be here to let you know when each Tar Heel has been selected. Here’s hoping everyone doesn’t have to wait too long.